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Note: N1 Nels finished 7th grade and began work as a young man, working in Maxwell's Mortuary and the Maxwell Hardware Store in Arlington, SD; he became a farmer in Winsor Township, Brookings County, SD, eventually owning 400 acres and renting more. He was at various times a deacon in the Lutheran Church. He spoke with a Swedish brogue and refused to teach Swedish to his children. An avid hunter, he loved nature and wildlife and went out of his way to create wildlife habitat while others were destroying it by draining or cutting.
A "salt of the earth," he could be counted on everytime someone needed help. He was, despite his limited education, highly intelligent and read continually throughout his life. He was also, of course, a "stubborn Swede" and did not always react to conditions in time, even when it meant his life.
He was an amazingly tough man. When a farm accident tore off a finger, he calmly wrapped up his hand and drove himself to get help. He finally died of cancer, which he had treated only when it, as he said, "hurt like hell." A sister noted that anyone else would have been screaming long before that. Doctors predicted on November 1, 1977 that he had three days to live. He died the following Memorial Day weekend after spending some months at home.
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